Deep Dive news | The Utah Ledger
Deep Dive
How Salt Lake paid for the 2002 Olympics
Utah’s early tax funding, Olympic sponsorships and government services helped stage the Games. The organizers’ surplus financed a lasting sports legacy, but it was only one part of the public bill.
Geneva Steel: a $110 million rescue, then another shutdown
A $110 million federally guaranteed loan helped Geneva Steel emerge from bankruptcy in 2001. Within a year the Utah mill was idle and back in bankruptcy; the government paid $92.1 million on its guarantee, and the equipment was sold to a Chinese steelmaker for $40 million.
RaPower-3: the solar lenses that sold tax benefits before electricity
A Utah promoter sold plastic solar lenses for $3,500 each with the pitch that buyers could zero out their federal taxes. Courts found the technology never worked, upheld a $50 million disgorgement order and denied investors’ credits, and a receiver has spent years chasing the money.
UTOPIA’s growing fiber network and the debt its cities still carry
Utah’s open-access fiber system has added customers and its financing partner has improved. The original agency’s obligations to bondholders and cities remain a separate part of the recovery story.
Utah’s finances: falling debt, substantial reserves and pressure beneath the totals
Utah has built financial cushions and paid down bonds. A review of its state accounts also finds slower growth in budget balances, a sharp preliminary drop in corporate taxes and financial controls that auditors said needed repair.